Equality at its Finest - Imgur

Earlier this week, this gif made it on the front page of Imgur, with the title "Equality at it's [sic] finest" and nearly 5,000 upvotes. But this is not equality. Equality does not mean we all get to hit each other.

This year, a survey found that 65% of women in the US had been victims of street harassment. Among all women, 23% had been sexually touched and 9% had been forced to do something sexual. A guest blogger for Jezebel recounted her encounter with harassment on the Metro. Unfortunately, this problem isn't new for women.

In an effort to increase public safety, some cities in Egypt, Japan, and India even have women-only sections. This gif comes from a video about equality in India. India, where in 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was brutally raped and beaten after she got on a public bus. About two-thirds of Indian women say they have experienced sexual harassment on public transportation, most of which are not officially reported. Not something to be taken lightly.

Let's watch the actual video. The gif leaves a lot of it out. So the boy runs to get on the bus. No empty seats. He squeezes behind the girl to stand behind her. She looks uncomfortable, but nothing has happened. No big deal yet.

At about 1:10, they both stumble. He uses his free arm to grab a bar on the other side of her, so he has her trapped up against him. His hips are completely pressed against hers. He steadies himself. She looks uncomfortable. At this point, he should've just apologized. It was an accident, no harm done. He could've moved to the other side of the bus, leaving her and her friend alone. But instead, he just stares at her and readjusts his bag. Super rude.

At 1:24, it happens again. He falls into her, against pressing his crotch against her butt. This time, she turns to face him. Still, he doesn't apologize. He glares at her. She slaps him. Nobody says sorry. Nobody says excuse me. She looks horrified and scared, but doesn't apologize either. Not the best move.

He watches her, glaring, cradling his cheek, and decides to punish her. Purposefully, he moves in front of her (why didn't he stand in front of her in the beginning? or at least after the first incident?) At 2:22, again they stumble, her shoulder bumps into his, and he immediately turns and whacks her across the face. He then switches between glaring at her and out the window for the next 30 seconds before getting off the bus.

Equality does not mean you get to hit each other. Equality would've been him respecting her enough to say "I'm sorry" after bumping into her the first time, instead of taking the opportunity to grind his junk into hers. Equality would be when all people feel comfortable on a bus. Instead, he clearly made her uncomfortable and then set her up so he could get revenge. This is in no way equal.

The YouTube description says, "An very innocent Boy like us..;) got a slaped from the girl with a full of attitude. and she thinks that she's the only last beauty on the world. but boys dont thinking so. so boy payback with their 4finger & 1 thumb to a girls lovely face.." Does this sound at all like a man who felt uncomfortable and harassed, like she was? Does this sound equal? Or does this sound like a man trying to punish a woman for having "attitude"? Paying her back for acting stuck up? Giving a woman "what she deserved"? If this was really about equality, why would it matter in the least if she was attractive or not? Men do not have the right to a woman's body. Nobody has the right to hit each other. This is not equality.